Lots of speculation abound, some vids, some "profiles" but very little speculation what the result will be for the newcomers and our team.

By now it has all sunk in, and while everybody seems to talk about the loss in defense, the players we lost contained only 1 good defender (Jax) who in turn only defended when he was told to "concentrate" in the second half.
Though Al might have been a "decent" defender on paper, he sure as heck wasn't interested in playing any, Sara ... nuff said.

Dunleavy (for what I've seen of him) seems to be a player prepared to play some defense, not saying he is a defender, but saying he wants to play some, not afraid to take a charge, unlike Al who stepped aside if someone came towards him, Murphy, soft but still ready to be a pest on the blocks, Ike, ready to take any charge.

After seeing some vids, and a few W games, it seems to me that Dun is more then the scrub he's made out to be, a good offensive player, nast moves and a good shot, which goes in at a .450 rate, something that "aint 'alf bad" if you ask me.
Thoug 0.350 on 3's does not come across as great, it's not that "sad" either and from what I've seen he has a nack for getting them of rather quick, unlike Jax, who needed minutes to get a shot of, or Al, who preferred taking them uncontested.

Al didn't work out (IMO) mainly because if his attitude, the same reason Atl did not make him an offer, the same reason W fans will spit him out sooner rather then later.

All in all I think this trade makes our team better, gives Granger and Quis a great opportunity, will require adeptations from our "core" of JO and JT but in the end I think we will end up with a rotation of (starters;) JO/Jeff/Dun/DG/JT (bench;)Murhy/Quis/Ike/Greene-AJ-SW-MB

We will not be able to see anything the first few games, but after that it might become clear that Dun was better then advertised, JO and Murphy fit fine (Murphy high, JO low) and who knows, we have become a team.

Naptown_Seth

01-20-2007, 05:36 PM

Not sold on Murph doing much, but I expect Dunleavy to put up improved numbers in this system. I'd consider him the #3 option after JO and Danny, though of course Tinsley often has his own POV regarding that. ;)

I love Ike, but where do they use him?

The main thing I hate in this is Granger at the SG. That's the problem with this trade, it doesn't really fix the Al position issue because MikeD is another SF.

In fact I'd like to still see Granger off the bench and Quis at the starting SG. But then it's looking like Quis is going to be playing some more PG unless Greene learns how to not carry the ball on every dribble (seriously, he does, and it's obvious).

Gonna miss 45% from 3 by Al, despite the other problems with his game.

imawhat

01-20-2007, 05:41 PM

I said this in another thread, but I'm thrilled about Dunleavy being here.

I think he'll make an instant impact on the game. The guy's game is almost flawless. He doesn't shine in any area, but he's very solid in most.

The Pacers haven't had anyone like him since I can remember. He hustles on every play. He never settles for a spot on the floor. And more importantly, when the ball isn't in his hands, he isn't looking for ways to get it; he's constantly moving to free his teammates and spread out the floor (exception being isolation plays). Like I said, I cannot remember having a player who does this. He will make the other players on our team play better. He also:

1. Has a quick shot and doesn't need much time.
2. Is a good ballhandler.
3. Is a great passer in the sense that he gets the ball to his teammates where they like it and in rhythm.
4. Is really good on the fast break and can finish.
5. Is a good rebounder.
6. Takes charges.

I could go on, but we'll see it very soon. He'll be a fan favorite. And I'm shocked that his numbers aren't better. I don't think they'll vastly improve, but he definitely plays better than the numbers show.

I'm not as excited about Troy Murphy as everyone else. Just like Marquis Daniels, I really don't think he'll improve his numbers here like TPTB believe he will. At least I don't think he's a double-double guy night in/night out. I think the most important thing he'll bring to Indiana is that he'll make the game easier for Jermaine. That will be major. He's an okay shooter, he doesn't move around a lot, and he doesn't box out on the defensive end, but he's a great passer (especially out of double teams..this is very important), he hustles, and he doesn't need the ball where Jermaine does. And he's an excellent offensive rebounder (he'll be 2nd best behind Jeff). And he's a solid defender. But, his most important attribute might become a non-factor if he's not starting with Jermaine. He wasn't an end-of-game player for Golden State, and I'm not sure he will be here.

Jury's still out on Ike, but from what I've heard I'm a little worried about him being a "black hole" kind of player. That's not neccesarily a bad thing if he's coming off the bench. In fact, we'll be blessed to have a bench player that demands that kind of post attention.

McLeod's an okay basketball player. He is a little like Kevin Ollie in his situation, but he doesn't remind me of anyone we've had here. He might get playing time, but probably not.

I'm concerned about our new defense. On "paper" it doesn't look much worse, but look at what happened last year with Peja. He seemed to be a solid one-on-one defender and a smart team defender and a good rebounder, but as soon as we plugged him into the lineup the rest of our team had problems getting key stops. We'll definitely miss Stephen's defense, but I'm willing to wait because there's no telling how these players will impact our defense (imo).

imawhat

01-20-2007, 05:55 PM

Honestly though, I think it's much more intriguing to see what'll happen in Golden State.

The fans and organization are completely misguided as to what they're getting. They think they're getting athletic guys that can run. Well, they couldn't be much further from the truth. They're getting the worst transition player in the league on both sides of the ball and a one-dimensional transition guy. So that alone will completely affect how Nellie coaches them. I think Al can thrive statistically, but what's going to happen when they can't get stops, start losing, and Al becomes disgruntled? Can't wait for tonight's games.

CableKC

01-20-2007, 06:17 PM

There has been many comparisons ( in terms of game play and how he will fit in with JONeal ) between Troy and Brad....IMHO....Troy game seems to be analogous to Croshere's style of play ( with Troy being a better rebounder...but not having as good of a 3pt shot as Austin ) as opposed to Brad.

Looking back at the years when Austin and JONeal were playing with extended minutes together ( especially when Austin had a more active role in the team ).....how well did they do?